STEAM has already lost steam

There is a strong link between Mathematics Education and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics). Students in Grades 10 and 11 are not ready to start learning STEAM until they have an Ordinary Scientific Calculator.

O / Level Mathematics students in Sri Lanka are 45 years behind their counterparts in the U.K. and in other developed countries. Ordinary Scientific Calculators were introduced to the O / Level Mathematics Classrooms in the U.K. in 1977. Prior to that those students used Slide Rules to facilitate their mathematical calculations. Ordinary Scientific Calculators give the values of Sine, Cos, Tan and their Inverses, Log, LN, exponential powers, square roots, Squares, reciprocals, factorials, etc., at the press of a button in addition to performing arithmetic functions. It is an invaluable aid for solving sophisticated and interesting mathematical problems and also problems in Ordinary Statistics. Students in the U.K. have the advantage of learning some Statistics also during their preparation for the O / Level Maths Exam.

I am not referring to Programmable Calculators also called Graphic Display Calculators (GDC), i.e. Calculators with a screen that can display graphs, statistical calculations like the Z-Score for large samples, Matrix calculations, Solutions to algebraic equations, etc., at the press of a few buttons. GDC is a compulsory item for A / Level Mathematics students in the U.K. and in all developed countries.

Some teachers say that by using Ordinary Scientific Calculators in Grades 10 and 11, the students will not acquire the ability to carry out mental arithmetic calculations.This is not true because :

( i ). Calculators are introduced in Grade 10. Maths teachers have five years of Primary school and three years of Middle school (Grades 7,8 and 9) i.e. a total of eight years to inculcate sufficient mental arithmetic skills in their students before the calculators are introduced in Grade 10.

( ii ). In the British O / Level Mathematics exams calculators are not allowed in Paper 1. Calculators are allowed in Paper 2. Preparation for Paper 1 requires the acquisition of mental arithmetic skills. Sri Lanka could do the same. Cambridge O / Levels were replaced by GCSE and IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education ) a few decades ago.

Sri Lankan students in International Schools sit British O / Level Mathematics exams ( or their equivalent ) in which Ordinary Scientific Calculators are allowed. These students and O / Level students in other countries have made big strides in learning Mathematics by using their calculators. Calculators help them to solve sophisticated, interesting maths problems and also to learn some Statistics, e.g. to calculate the Z- Score in a small sample of marks, or to use the Spearman’s Coefficient of Rank Correlation formula to solve some real life problems. Only the rich can send their children to International Schools in Sri Lanka. Millions of poor Sri Lankan students do not have calculators and they are left in the lurch.

Just compare the maths questions in the British O / Level i.e. the Cambridge IGCSE maths exam or the London O / Level maths exam with the questions in the Sri Lankan O / Level maths exam and you will see how far our students have fallen behind.

Millions of Sri Lankan students are stuck with their old Log Tables. Other countries have dumped the Log Tables into the dustbin of history in 1965 when they introduced the Slide Rule to the O / Level mathematics classroom. Slide Rules disappeared from the classrooms when Ordinary Scientific Calculators arrived in 1977.

Our O / L students use their smartphones for online learning but they have been denied the most basic of all technological tools, viz. the Ordinary Scientific Calculator. The cost of a Scientific Calculator is about 8 % of the cost of a smartphone.

They are not ready to learn STEAM until they have learnt to use the Ordinary Scientific Calculator.A few years ago, the Minister of Education allowed the use of Ordinary Scientific Calculators in the Sri Lankan A / Level Mathematics Exam. That was a step in the right direction. It is high time that the Calculator is introduced to Grade 10 also. Susil Premjayantha, the ball is in your court now. Play it.

An Ordinary Scientific Calculator ( e.g. Texas Instruments TI-30 ) costs about 15 Dollars in the USA ( about Rupees 5000 /- ). It is Solar, i.e. it can be charged with Sunlight. Students do not have to buy batteries or electrical plugs to charge them. TI-30 Calculator is non programmable and it has no formula memory. The Ministry of Education will need to buy at least 250, 000 Calculators in order to provide a calculator to each and every student in Grade 10. It will cost about 4 million Dollars to buy 250,000 Ordinary Scientific Calculators from Texas Instruments. If you put in a bulk order, Texas Instruments will give you a discount. US AID, UNESCO, British Overseas Development, ADB and a couple of other Institutions will provide some financial aid to help a bankrupt country like Sri Lanka to foot the bill for the Calculators.

If you provide an Ordinary Scientific Calculator to each and every 10 th Grade student in Sri Lanka you will be investing in the country’s future because high standards in Mathematics and Physics will contribute to Sri Lanka’s economic growth. With the advent of the Ordinary Scientific Calculator, the O / Level mathematics syllabus needs to be revised in order to bring it in line with the O / Level and the IGCSE in developed countries.

15 Dollars is about Rs. 5000 /-. If you sell the 250,000 Calculators at half price, i.e. at Rs. 2,500 /- per calculator you will recover six hundred and twenty five million Rupees. Lower middle class and poor parents will also be able to afford the reasonable price of Rs. 2,500 /- for an Ordinary Scientific Calculator. A student can use the same calculator in Grade 11 and also for their A / Level Mathematics and Physics. The important thing is to avoid using Middlemen in this affair because Middlemen will make a big profit and it will become yet another case of corruption.

An Ordinary Scientific Calculator ( TI-30 ) is quite sufficient for A / Level Mathematics. Programmable ( Graphic Display ) Calculator can be introduced during the first or second year of University. They are expensive.

In a speech at the Ministry on 22 August 2022 , Minister Susil Premajayantha has stated the following : ‘’ The main cause of unemployment in Sri Lanka is a lack of enrolment in technology faculties. Students in rural areas do not have the resources to begin their studies in technological subjects. We cannot move forward by thinking in the traditional way. We should think outside the box when policy decisions are made. The Ministry wants to promote the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics ( STEAM ) concept in schools, including those in rural areas ‘’.

Very Good, but you are putting the cart before the horse if you start STEAM before providing an Ordinary Scientific Calculator to our students in Grade 10. First of all, please provide all the schools with the most basic technological tool, viz. the Ordinary Scientific Calculator before they begin their studies in STEAM.

I urge the Minister to be realistic. Mathematics is the key to learning Science, Engineering and Technology and an Ordinary Scientific Calculator paves the way for higher standards in Mathematics. For a start he should provide all Grade 10 students with an Ordinary Scientific Calculator and revamp the O / Level Mathematics Syllabus. It is sad that only the students in International Schools in Sri Lanka are using the Ordinary Scientific Calculator. They have an unfair advantage over millions of Sri Lankan students. The Minister of Education should remedy this situation quickly.

It is unfortunate that the STEAM Education Programme has already lost steam due to lack of Ordinary Scientific Calculators in Grades 10 & 11.

Question : Well equipped Science Laboratories are also required to implement STEAM. Does that facility exist in our rural schools ?

Anton Peiris

Emeritus Coordinator, International Baccalaureate, Geneva.
anton25ps@gmail.com